


Teddy Altman Must Die

by AngelWithAStory



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: Anger, Attempted Sexual Assault, Comfort/Angst, Comics, Emotional Manipulation, Established Relationship, It's Not Paranoia If They're Really Out To Get You, M/M, Minor Violence, Paranoia, Revenge, dorky boyfriends, high school sucks, pure angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-10
Updated: 2013-07-10
Packaged: 2017-12-18 09:12:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/878136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelWithAStory/pseuds/AngelWithAStory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Revenge is a dish best served cold, and sometimes you need the chink in the armor to get it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Teddy Altman Must Die

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote the first bit ages ago but I had no idea where to go with it and the idea came to me quite quickly so I wrote the whole thing out otherwise I probably would never have finished it.  
> Angst and dorky boyfriends go so well together that it hurts my soul. 
> 
> I own nothing

“Hey, Kaplan!” A chillingly familiar voice shouted down the school. Billy froze by his locker, tensing his shoulders. Greg Norris was striding up to him, flanked by a few other muscley bullies.

“I don’t want any trouble, and I’m already late for picking up my little brothers. Please leave me alone.” Billy pleaded, zipping up his backpack. The lie came to him easily because he’d used it a hundred times but it was still yet to work.

“Come on, Bill. I’m not here to beat you up. That’s Kesler’s job.” Greg stated jokily.

“Good to know. I have to go.” Billy said shortly, turning away. The two boys blocked his way and Billy slowly turned back around. “What do you want?”

“Just to talk. What’s the problem?” Greg inquired, leaning against the lockers.

“People like you never ‘just talk’ with guys like me. There’s some ulterior motive here.” Billy stated, his eyes darting around for an escape route.

“What? I can’t just have a conversation with you.” Greg repeated, miming shock.

“There you are, Billy!” The sweet voice of Teddy Altman called out. A sigh of relief escaped Billy as he saw his boyfriend walking up to him. Greg noted the expression on Billy’s face carefully, putting it away for later.

“Altman.” Greg greeted. Teddy glanced at him, but he elected to ignore the greeting.

“You weren’t in the library. I started to worry, come on.” Teddy admitted, slinging his arm around Billy’s shoulders and leading him away.

“Thanks for the save.” Billy muttered as they walked away and at a safe distance.

“I don’t always have to be in costume to rescue you. What did that creep want?” Teddy replied.

“He said he just wanted to talk.” Billy admitted.

“Hmm.” Teddy huffed, pulling Billy tighter.

“Don’t worry, Ted. I know to stay out his way. Now come on, we shouldn’t let a jerk like Norris get to us.” Billy said reassuringly, sinking slightly into Teddy’s frame.

“Yeah. We should go. Eli will kill us if we’re late.” Teddy agreed.

“And comic store after. New releases today.” Billy added.

“It’s a date.” Teddy smiled at Billy comfortingly.

  

 

“Kaplan! Wait up!” Greg called, Billy groaned internally and quickly tried to dart into his next class. Greg stopped him _just_ at the last second. “I wanted to apologise for the other day, if I came on a bit threatening.” He apologised. The statement actually had Billy a bit shocked. He certainly wasn’t expecting an apology.

“Okay. I really do have to get to class.” Billy replied, pushing past him into the classroom. Greg smirked to himself and walked in, shutting the door behind him.

“Billy, can I have a word quickly?” The teacher asked, calling Billy over.

“What’s up, sir?” Billy inquired, trying to sound nonchalant.

“I wondered if you’d be able to take on another student to tutor. I know that you’re currently tutoring Teddy from my other class and his grades have certainly gone up since you began. I just wanted to ask if you’d be okay to take on another one. If that’s convenient, of course.” The teacher said, leaning against his desk in the way that young male teachers have a tendency to do.

“I’m free on Thursdays after school. I could do it then.” Billy offered, shrugging his bag further onto his shoulder.

“That’s great, Billy. I’ll let him know to meet you in the library after school on Thursday. Thanks for doing this.” The teacher said, wordlessly ushering Billy into his seat.

“Okay, class, settle down.” The teacher said, starting the lesson just as Billy slid into his usual seat at the back of the class. “Now today we’re going to carry doing about the 1920’s. Now what was the big event that happened at the end of the 20’s?” He asked, writing ‘ _1920’s America’_ on the board behind him.

 

 

“Tell, Eli I might be a bit late today. My teacher asked me to tutor another kid and I’m not sure how long it’ll take. We stayed in the library for three and a half hours our first tutoring session.” Billy said, walking with Teddy the short distance to the library.

“But we didn’t always talk about the subject, though did we?” Teddy said teasingly.

“Is that a hint of jealousy I detect?” Billy inquired, smirking at his boyfriend.

“I’m just thinking, maybe I should hang around for a while, you know, in case I have to swoop in and rescue you again.” Teddy suggested, slightly sheepishly. Billy grasped Teddy’s shoulder and turned him so they were facing each other. He kissed his boyfriend on the lips and made sure it was a good one.

“I’ll be fine, Teddy. See you at training.” He bid, turning into the library and waving at Teddy until the door shut behind him. Teddy stayed standing for a moment, hands in his pockets, shoulders slightly hunched. He’d decided to leave when he saw Greg Norris turning the corner. Instinctively, Teddy ducked into a small crevice along the side of the library exterior. He watched as Greg entered the library and scowled slightly.

“Like I’m going to leave now.” He muttered to himself, shifting into a slightly more inconspicuous disguise. A girl would do for a disguise. Short blonde hair. Green eyes. His clothes stayed the same, just shrunk down slightly and a lower neckline to try and separate the two outfits a bit. Not his favourite disguise (boobs can get really heavy, man) but it’ll do. Billy might recognise him, but it wasn’t likely. If he kept his distance, then maybe he could get away with it. Any disguise was a good one right now. He took a few books out his back pack and held them in the crook of his arm. Checking no one was watching, he stepped inside the library.

 

 

“Billy?” Greg asked, pulling back the chair beside Billy’s at the table he’d picked out. It was opposite the clock and had a lot of natural light; the prime tutoring place.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Billy grumbled, covering his face.

“Hey, my teacher just said that I needed a tutor and he found me one. Might as well get on with it, Billy.” Greg said light-heartedly.

“Since when were we on a first-name basis?” Billy asked, letting a hint of venom into his voice.

“Might as well try to be friendly since we’ll be seeing each other once a week.” Greg replied lightly, pulling his history books out of his backpack.

“Fine, but I have to leave before 5.” Billy stated, opening the reference book he pulled off the shelf.

“Okay. So, the economic boom: I don’t get it.” Greg admitted, his eyes following a blonde girl who sat down at the table next to them. A small frown creased his forehead but Billy didn’t notice.

“Well, first off, the boom happened because of five factors: the republican polices the American state of mind, America’s raw materials, and the industries at the time...” Billy began, pointing to the paragraphs in the book which listed the reasons.

 

 

“Billy! Get it together, man! If this was the real thing, you could be dead right now!” Eli criticised, dodging one of Kate’s arrows. This weeks’ training session was boys Vs girls, and even though there were over twice as many boys, the members with a Y chromosome were finding it difficult to keep up. Vision had insisted on being on the girl’s team ‘ _to try and even the odds a bit more_ ’ as he put it.

“That’s the third time Cassie almost got you. What’s wrong?” Kate asked, lowering the bow slightly.

“It’s nothing, I’m just tired. I’m fine.” He replied, lowering himself to the ground.

“Billy, if there’s something bothering you, we can always help out.” Cassie said, shrinking down. Kate slowly pulled an arrow out her quiver. The air moved dramatically around her and the arrow was yanked out her hand. Tommy stood a couple metres in front of her, holding the arrow triumphantly in his hand.

“Too slow for you, Bishop!” He declared, waving it at her childishly. Kate clicked a button on her bow and foam spurted out the head of the arrow, covering Tommy in quick-hardening plastic froth.

“Too smart for you, Shepherd.” Kate retorted.

“You sure you’re okay, Bill?” Teddy asked, resting his hand on Billy’s shoulder comfortingly.

“I’m fine.” Billy reassured him, placing his own hand over Teddy’s.

“You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?” Teddy said.

“You know I would. Now we’d better survive this training session.” Billy replied. It was almost pitiful how much the girls (and Vision) were whooping their asses.

 

 

 “Sir, I was wondering if I could use this room for my tutoring session this week since they don’t have the same textbooks at the library.” Greg asked after class, making sure the other students had left the room. 

“That’s fine, Greg. I’ll leave it unlocked for you and Billy after school.” The teacher agreed, tapping a few keys on his laptop. “How’s the tutoring going, anyway?” He asked. 

“Wonderfully. I’m really learning a lot.” Greg replied. 

“That’s good to hear. You’d better be going to next lesson.” The teacher prompted. Greg nodded in agreement and swung open the door. 

 

 

“Change of plan, Billy, we’re studying in our History class.” Greg announced, catching Billy just before he entered the library. 

“Okay? Why?” Billy questioned, hand still on the door. 

“Mix it up a bit. Come on.” Greg replied vaguely. He grabbed Billy’s arm and started dragging him into the school. 

“Isn’t that important basketball game coming up? And aren’t you the team captain? Shouldn’t you be at practice?” Billy demanded, yanking his arm out of Greg’s grip. 

“Coach said I could skip practice today for tutoring.” Greg replied easily. 

“Weird. Teddy had to cancel tutoring this week because of practice.” Billy said, a hint of suspicion in his voice. 

“Well I’m failing history so I really need this session.” Greg stated. “We’d better get started.” Greg led the way to the classroom and opened the door. Billy closed the door behind him and turned back around. Greg was stood less than a foot away. The physical closeness made Billy’s breath hitch ever so slightly. 

“Greg; you’re standing a bit close.” Billy said, gulping back air. 

“Does that bother you, Billy?” Greg inquired, something in his voice making Billy force his gaze away. 

“A bit. I have a boyfriend, Greg. A tough boyfriend.” Billy replied, his mind whirling. 

“I know. Altman. How do you stand that stuck-up, worthless-” Greg spat, taking a step forwards and almost closing the space between them. 

“Hey!” Billy shouted, thankful for the anger to take over his thoughts. 

“Teddy’s pathetic. He’s too ashamed about you that he hasn’t even told the school.” Greg accused, pounding his fists against the wall either side of Billy’s head. He was barely five inches from Billy’s face and Billy tried to step away but backed into the wall. 

“We don’t want everyone to know. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Billy defended. 

“Is that what he tells you? Does he say that you’re too special? That you’re the only one who matters? It’s all just a script, which _I_ created.” Greg demanded patronisingly. “It’s all just lines from a script, Bill. Get over your little fairytale romance.” Greg spat. Billy couldn’t think up a reply quick enough before Greg pressed himself against Billy and kissing him roughly. Greg moved his hands to Billy’s arms and nearly crushed the bones, forcing him to stay put. He closed the space completely and pinned Billy’s shoulders against the wall, further stopping him from moving.

‘ _Okay, this is wrong. Very, very wrong. Greg is straight. Didn’t he have about 20 girlfriends? Teddy will be pissed. Why is he still kissing me? Why aren’t I fighting back?! Wait, I_ am _trying to fight back. I’m trying to get free_.’ 

Billy found himself beating against Greg’s chest. His hands were crackling with electricity and that seemed to deter Greg, who was zapped so badly he released Billy.

Billy pushed him back and wiped his mouth, trying to get Greg of his lips. 

“What the hell are you doing?!” Billy accused, anger filling him up. 

“Come on, admit it; Teddy never kissed you like that.” Greg stated. 

“And that made you kiss me?!” Billy shot back. “Pass History on your own, bastard.” He exclaimed, storming out the room. Greg sat on top of one of the tables, smirking to himself. 

 

  
Billy stumbled down the front steps, mind buzzing. Greg had kissed him. Greg. Norris. The guy, who manipulated Teddy to his own whim, _kissed_ him. He found himself on Teddy’s street, wondering up the pavement. As he dragged his backpack along, he desperately hoped that Teddy was in.

Timidly, he knocked on the door. Teddy’s face appeared a few seconds later. His hair was wet and he had some scruffy clothes on. He’d definitely just had a shower. 

“Billy?” Teddy asked, slightly confused. 

“I don’t- I think. Teddy, I’m sorry.” Billy stammered, falling forwards into Teddy’s arms. Automatically, Teddy had his arm around Billy and was slowly rocking him. 

“It’s okay, Bill. It’s okay. What happened?” Teddy asked, keeping his voice soft. 

“I had to tutor Greg and we studied in the classroom and he trapped me and started saying stuff about you and then he kissed me and I don’t know if I fought back or not. I’m sorry Teddy. I’m so sorry.” Billy said, the words streaming out of him. His shoulders started to shake and tears began to spill down his cheeks. 

“It’s okay Billy. Did Greg hurt you?” Teddy said, holding him tighter. 

“He pinned me against the wall and I couldn’t get away. He wouldn’t let me leave. He forced me to stay and I couldn’t speak so I couldn’t get away and I ended up zapping him. Teddy, I’m so sorry.” Billy apologised again, resting his head against Teddy’s chest. 

“Billy, it’s okay. Greg Norris is one of the biggest jerks in history.” Teddy promised him, smoothing down Billy’s hair.

“It’s all my fault. I should have just left the library that first session. Told the teacher something came up and I couldn’t tutor him. _Something_. This is all my fault.” Billy said, looking anywhere but Teddy’s face.

“Billy, listen to me,” Teddy instructed, cupping Billy’s face in his hands and shrinking slightly so they were eye-level. He wiped the tear trails away with his thumb and looked Billy in the eye. “This is not your fault. This is Greg’s fault. He was the one who chose to assault you. The only thing you did was fight back because you’re the strong superhero that I fell in love with. Absolutely none of this is on you, Billy. I love you.” Teddy admitted, stroking Billy’s face gently and lovingly.

“I love you too, Ted. I really do.” Billy said, collapsing back into Teddy. Teddy smiled wearily and propped his boyfriend up in his arms.

“I know.” He whispered, happy to hold Billy until he felt better.

 

 

“NORRIS!” Teddy shouted, kicking open the changing room doors at the beginning to practice the next day. His vision was blood red and he wanted vengeance.

“Hey, Altman; how’s life?” Greg inquired, smirking evilly.

“How DARE you!” Teddy demanded, grasping the front of Greg’s shirt and physically lifting him off the ground. Teddy slammed him against the lockers that ran the perimeter of the locker room.

“A bit defensive, are we, Altman?” Greg said, not reacting to Teddy’s actions.

“You really have a lot to explain, Greg, before I put you through the wall.” Teddy threatened, lowering his voice to a growl. “I had to comfort Billy for hours after your _stunt_ yesterday. What the Hell is wrong with you? What did you want to get out of it?!” Teddy demanded, hitting Greg against the metal doors again. Greg’s head hit the locker doors with a satisfying metallic thud.

“Revenge, Altman. Revenge on you.” Greg admitted, eyeing the growing crowd of concerned basketball players.

“Then why did you bring Billy into this?” Teddy hissed, ignoring everyone else.

“Because the perfect way to get to someone is through their weak spot.” Greg said. “Billy just happened to be yours, Altman, and he took the bait. How does it feel to know your boyfriend _let_ me in to his life and even started to _like_ meeting me every week? It’s was his fault.” Greg spat. Teddy scowled at him dangerously. Before Greg could say another word, Teddy had launched his fist into the side of Greg’s head, actually denting the locker door. Greg slid down slightly, but Teddy caught his collar and punched him again in the nose. A crack of his nose breaking sounded and blood started pouring down Greg’s face.

“ALTMAN! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!” The coach demanded, running out his office. He was fuming.

“Norris sexually assaulted my boyfriend!” Teddy defended, letting some of his anger go. The coach looked at him incredulously.

“Wait, boyfriend?” He said, definitely focusing on the wrong part of the sentence.

“Yes, my _boy_ friend. He assaulted my long-term boyfriend while you let him skip practice.” Teddy retorted. It took a few moments for the coach to be able to respond.

“Get him to the nurse’s office.” The coach ordered, turning to two boys behind him. They nodded and started lifting Greg off the ground. He groaned in pain and gingerly touched his face.

“You stay away from Billy or you’ll break more than your nose.” Teddy threatened, seeing the look on Greg’s face.

“That’s enough, Altman.” The coach said, redirecting Teddy’s attention back to him. “I understand that you’re angry because of what Norris supposedly did but that doesn’t mean that you can take it out on Greg.” He said.

“S _upposedly_?” Teddy replied venomously. “Do you think Billy was lying?” He demanded, glaring at the teacher.

“I don’t know your boyfriend, but Norris is the team captain and we can’t risk him not being on the team, especially with the big game coming up.” The coach admitted.

“One of _your_ students sexually assaulted someone when they _should_ have been in practice and you’re prepared to let that go for the sake of a game?” Teddy repeated, the anger flaring up again. “Good to know that our school system isn’t being corrupted. I quit. Good luck winning the game.” Teddy spat, turning to leave.

“You can’t quit the team, you’re our best player!” The coach shouted after him.

“Not anymore.” Teddy countered, slamming the door behind him.

 

 

“ _Billy, please pick up. You know it’s just me. Just Teddy. I want to talk to you, Billy. Okay, if you don’t feel up to answering the phone, then I’ll just talk to your answering machine. I beat Greg up. He said he was using you to get to me and I beat the crap out of him. I quit the team after the coach told me to keep quiet. I couldn’t be on the same team as him anymore. Come on, Billy, please talk to me. This is the third message I’ve left for you today. I’m lonely. I know what Greg said to you. I’m not ashamed of you, Bill. I love you. In fact, I told everyone I’m gay. I want everyone to know that I love you. Please talk to me. Try and give me some sign that you don’t hate me. It’s Wednesday. Comic book day. I’ll get you your favourites. I miss you Billy. I’ll try and ring again at some point. I love you._ ” Teddy’s voice rang through the answering machine speaker. Billy sat in the room, curled up on his bed, hugging his knees. He felt dirty. He’d already taken three showers and he still felt violated. The end-of-message tone sounded and Billy’s chin sank into his knees. Teddy really was there for him.

“Don’t listen to Norris. He was messing with you.” Billy reminded himself, whispering the words. He lied to his mum and stayed home from school. All day he’d stayed in his room, drowning in self-loathing. Teddy had called at regular intervals during the day, trying to get him to pick up the phone. He couldn’t. Greg _had_ tricked him into being as close to a friend as he could have been, but Billy had fallen for it. Billy had let him get under his skin and it was Billy’s fault he felt like this.

The phone rang again but this time Billy reached out and took the phone off the base.

“Ted?” He asked down the phone.

“Billy? I’ve been calling all day. Are you alright?” Teddy replied.

“I’m fine. I just needed some time.” Billy said truthfully. There was silence on the other end of the line and dread bubbled in Billy’s stomach.

“Look out your window.” Teddy spoke up. Billy swung his legs off his bed and padded over to the window. Teddy was looking at him, the skeletal wings sprouted from his shoulder blades. Billy smiled at him and opened the window. Teddy clambered in, a plastic bag in his hand.

“What are you doing here?” Billy asked.

“I got your comics.” Teddy said, simply, holding up the bag.

“You’re great.” Billy said, throwing his arms around Teddy’s neck.

“It’s my job to make sure you’re okay. I’m here for you, Bill. Don’t forget that.” Teddy replied sincerely. Teddy engulfed Billy in his muscley arms and held him tightly.

“I know.” Billy replied, listening to Teddy’s chest slowly rising and slowly falling, absolutely content.


End file.
